February 21: Corporate takeover. Corporate
farming has taken over the swine industry the way chain stores
took over retailing, and contract farms are the new franchises.
North Carolina farmers are borrowing heavily to raise pigs for
corporations.

February 22: Murphy's law. During
his 10 years as a state legislator, Wendell Holmes Murphy became
the nation's biggest hog producer. And he helped pass laws worth
millions of dollars to his company and his industry.

February 24: Money talks. Some
of their neighbors say that hog farms stink; pork companies call
it the "smell of money." Find out what Eastern North
Carolina is getting out of its new status as Pig Country, U.S.A.,
and why some people want the growth to stop.

In this five-part series, The News & Observer explores North Carolina's pork revolution and the state's role as a supporter and mediator. The stories drive home one central question:

Who's in charge?

North Carolina, hundreds of miles from America's traditional Midwest
hog belt, has become the nation's No. 2 hog producer. Last year,
hogs generated more than $1 billion in revenue -- more than tobacco.
This year, hogs are expected to pass broiler chickens as the No.
1 agricultural commodity.

That's part of the story -- the part claimed proudly by companies
such as Murphy Family Farms, Carroll's Foods and Prestage Farms.
These companies have put North Carolina on the map with high-tech,
high-density hog production.

But there's more to the story of North Carolina's fastest-growing
industry.

In a seven-month investigation, The N&O found that state agencies
aid the expansion of pork production but are slow to act on a
growing range of problems resulting from that increase.

The industry has won laws and policies promoting its rapid growth
in North Carolina. It also has profited from a network of formal
and informal alliances with powerful people in government.

Now, a growing chorus of residents, local leaders and environmental
groups is pressing the state to address worries about hog farming.
Most are complaining about odor. And an increasing number want
to know about pollution problems and long-term economic development
issues in Eastern North Carolina.

The first package of stories shows how hog farms are polluting
groundwater, how serious the environmental effects might be, and
how environmental regulators worry that they lack the information
and the authority they need to protect the public. Subsequent
stories look at corporate farming, politics, hog odor and campaign
finance.